Elder Care Costs Help!

[RockAndRollBallerina]

For those of you who've rather dealt with an elderly family member in assisted living or nursing, or currently dealing with one in assisted living or nursing.

A member of my family is currently in assisted living, is 97 years old, and we will have to utilize Medicaid once her money runs out to pay for her care as no one in the family has funds to cover costs of care. She has pension and social security coming in as income, her savings covers the rest of care. Is currently on Medicare and has a supplemental policy to cover the rest of what Medicare won't pay for, also has a prescription plan for her meds.

What are things that you rather cut back spending on, or cut out completely?

Is there anything you did to save money on essentials like adult diapers or other similar items?

If theres anything additional you'd like to add that might help, please do.

Thanks

 

[bedogged]

For those of you who've rather dealt with an elderly family member in assisted living or nursing, or currently dealing with one in assisted living or nursing.

A member of my family is currently in assisted living, is 97 years old, and we will have to utilize Medicaid once her money runs out to pay for her care as no one in the family has funds to cover costs of care. She has pension and social security coming in as income, her savings covers the rest of care. Is currently on Medicare and has a supplemental policy to cover the rest of what Medicare won't pay for, also has a prescription plan for her meds.

What are things that you rather cut back spending on, or cut out completely?

Is there anything you did to save money on essentials like adult diapers or other similar items?

If theres anything additional you'd like to add that might help, please do.

Thanks

I'm not sure I understand your question? If her income and savings is paying for her care, why would she need to "cut back spending?"

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm not sure I understand your question? If her income and savings is paying for her care, why would she need to "cut back spending?"

Because Medicaid doesn't pay for assisted living, and she's going to run out of savings before she runs out of life. Her SS and pension income won't bridge the gap in what care costs. The OP is trying to keep her out of a medicaid nursing home bed for as long as possible. (Among other things, Medicaid requires a shared room; no private rooms.)

OP, if anyone in your family has access to a Flexible Spending Account, consider using it to pay for her medical supplies, and you should buy them in bulk, possibly from a club such as Sam's or Costco, but also possibly online; whichever gives you the best deal. FSA guidelines currently allows for adult incontinence supplies to qualify for tax savings, so if someone buys them for her and gets reimbursed (save all receipts for her so that she'll have them for the medicaid spend-down to prove that the monies were purchase reimbursements), then the person who is buying the supplies on her behalf can also route the tax savings back to her.

Most facilities will allow setting up a gift account for haircuts in their salon. If the family can gift those to her, she won't have to pay for them herself.

Also, make sure that if she takes nutritional supplement drinks, that they are being supplied by the family rather than by the facility; they charge a huge markup on those, and as they are not meds, they don't have to be managed; you can just get a case for her at Costco and put them in her minifridge.

Also, if she is paying for laundry service, can a family member take over that chore? We do my MIL's laundry 2X a week for her. If her facility and her Dr. allow patients to manage their own meds, you might think of investing in an electric dosage dispenser so that she can continue to manage them herself if she currently does. (These are plate-sized multi-compartment gadgets that run on a timer. You fill the compartments with the proper dosage for the person, and when time to take each dose comes around, only the proper compartment will open.

 

[bedogged]

Because Medicaid doesn't pay for assisted living, and she's going to run out of savings before she runs out of life. Her SS and pension income won't bridge the gap in what care costs. The OP is trying to keep her out of a medicaid nursing home bed for as long as possible. (Among other things, Medicaid requires a shared room; no private rooms.)

OP, if anyone in your family has access to a Flexible Spending Account, consider using it to pay for her medical supplies, and you should buy them in bulk, possibly from a club such as Sam's or Costco, but also possibly online; whichever gives you the best deal. FSA guidelines currently allows for adult incontinence supplies to qualify for tax savings, so if someone buys them for her and gets reimbursed (save all receipts for her so that she'll have them for the medicaid spend-down to prove that the monies were purchase reimbursements), then the person who is buying the supplies on her behalf can also route the tax savings back to her.

Most facilities will allow setting up a gift account for haircuts in their salon. If the family can gift those to her, she won't have to pay for them herself.

Also, make sure that if she takes nutritional supplement drinks, that they are being supplied by the family rather than by the facility; they charge a huge markup on those, and as they are not meds, they don't have to be managed; you can just get a case for her at Costco and put them in her minifridge.

Also, if she is paying for laundry service, can a family member take over that chore? We do my MIL's laundry 2X a week for her. If her facility and her Dr. allow patients to manage their own meds, you might think of investing in an electric dosage dispenser so that she can continue to manage them herself if she currently does. (These are plate-sized multi-compartment gadgets that run on a timer. You fill the compartments with the proper dosage for the person, and when time to take each dose comes around, only the proper compartment will open.

My father is in a similar situation. He is in a very nice private nursing home that he is paying for. When he uses up his savings, he will go on Medicaid, it will pay the difference and he will stay in the same room. His roommate is currently on Medicaid.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Was her spouse in the military? She might be able to get VA help. Have your price purchasing diapers of other supplies from amazon? Have you talked to anyone at your local "office of aging" they might have so helpful idea's

 

[tazadd0420]

Related to a private room for a Medicaid resident:

If you pay the difference between the semi-private and private room rate you can still have a private room.

For example semi is $200 per day
Private is $250 per day. If you pay the $50 per day, you can have a private room, while medicaid pays the other portion. This may be state to state, but I think falls under resident rights.

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

What state does she live in? As someone else posted, was her husband in the military?

 

[Traveliz]

Because Medicaid doesn't pay for assisted living, and she's going to run out of savings before she runs out of life. Her SS and pension income won't bridge the gap in what care costs. The OP is trying to keep her out of a medicaid nursing home bed for as long as possible. (Among other things, Medicaid requires a shared room; no private rooms.)

OP, if anyone in your family has access to a Flexible Spending Account, consider using it to pay for her medical supplies, and you should buy them in bulk, possibly from a club such as Sam's or Costco, but also possibly online; whichever gives you the best deal. FSA guidelines currently allows for adult incontinence supplies to qualify for tax savings, so if someone buys them for her and gets reimbursed (save all receipts for her so that she'll have them for the medicaid spend-down to prove that the monies were purchase reimbursements), then the person who is buying the supplies on her behalf can also route the tax savings back to her.

Most facilities will allow setting up a gift account for haircuts in their salon. If the family can gift those to her, she won't have to pay for them herself.

Also, make sure that if she takes nutritional supplement drinks, that they are being supplied by the family rather than by the facility; they charge a huge markup on those, and as they are not meds, they don't have to be managed; you can just get a case for her at Costco and put them in her minifridge.

Also, if she is paying for laundry service, can a family member take over that chore? We do my MIL's laundry 2X a week for her. If her facility and her Dr. allow patients to manage their own meds, you might think of investing in an electric dosage dispenser so that she can continue to manage them herself if she currently does. (These are plate-sized multi-compartment gadgets that run on a timer. You fill the compartments with the proper dosage for the person, and when time to take each dose comes around, only the proper compartment will open.

Just as an FYI Medicaid does pay for Assisted Living in some states...in Illinois my Dad was in Assisted Living for about four years before having to go to a Nursing home and Medicaid absorbed his costs.

Liz